Daddy's Little Girl
by tatianolishka
Summary: Tim's little girl is getting married, but she wishes her dad could be there to walk her down the aisle. EricOC, slight HoratioOC.


A/N: This fic is in response to the fic challenge on my website, CSI: Burkington. I do not own CSI: Miami, the only people I own in here are Sissi and Annemarie. Anyways, I had to include the song "Butterfly Kisses", strawberries, the color red, a photograph, and a letter to somebody. I also had to use my characters (since it's an RP site), so here's what I got. Enjoy:P

* * *

Sissi glanced around her room, sighing to herself. Her heart was heavy, even though this was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Something was missing today... somebody, to be exact. No matter how much she wished it weren't true, Sissi's father wouldn't be coming to her wedding. People had always said she was her father's daughter, an exact replica of the criminalist that had touched so many lives. She could look in the mirror and see him, see his brown eyes staring back at her.

She shuffled her feet, looking down at her side and smiling a little. On a coffee table, amongst an arrangement of white and red roses, sat a framed photograph of Tim Speedle. Annemarie had put it there, to remind their daughter that her father was with her even in death. Sissi reached out, her hand touching the glass. She felt like it was the only thing stopping her from being with her dad that day, and a lump gathered in her throat. Her legs shivered from the cold of the drafty room, and she rubbed her arms in an attempt to stay warm. She looked away from the photograph, blinking back tears.

A plate of strawberries sat beside his photo. They had been a symbol between the father and daughter. Every Sunday, when Isabella was little, she and Tim would drive out to the glades and have a picnic in their old station wagon.

A knock came at the door, and two familiar faces peeked in. They were both redheads, well-dressed and bearing almost no resemblance to the bride-to-be. Yet Sissi considered them both to be her parents, the ones who'd raised her after her father died. One was her mother, Annemarie Speedle, and the other was Horatio Caine. They both smiled at her, and Annemarie sighed.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart." she cooed, going over to her daughter and putting her hands on her shoulders. "Eric's lucky to have you."

Sissi nodded, and managed a smile.

"I'm lucky to have him." she corrected her mother.

Horatio chuckled, and took Sissi's hand in his arm.

"You ready?" he asked.

She nodded again, but held him back longer. Her mother left the room, and Sissi sat down and shook her head, covering her face as she tried to hold back tears. The lieutenant looked at her for a moment, then sat down beside her. He knew why she was upset.

"Sissi," he whispered, "I know this isn't what you wanted... what you imagined. You wanted Speedle to walk you down. You wanted your father to give you away."

Sissi pulled her hands away and nodded.

"I..." she sobbed, "It just doesn't feel right. I don't want to get married without Daddy telling me... letting me go."

Horatio didn't know what to say to her. She looked broken, like she did the day she found out her father had been shot. That young teenage girl with messy brown hair and skinned knees had become a woman in the blink of an eye, and it hurt everyone around her to know that she'd done it without her father's help. Sissi was everything Tim Speedle wrapped in a smaller, more delicate parcel. Giving her to Eric Delko was the toughest thing Annemarie had ever had to do since Tim's death. Horatio'd been there to help them, but everytime he saw Tim's daughter he couldn't help but notice that with every day that passed, Speed showed up more and more in her personality, her features, and her life.

He sighed, then put his hand on her shoulder.

"If your father were here," Horatio said gently, "What do you think he would say?"

Sissi smiled a little, then looked at the lieutenant.

"'Quick, get in the Hummer, you're not marrying Eric unless it's over my dead body'?"

Horatio laughed, and Sissi's eyes sparkled as she giggled a bit.

"Well, maybe." Horatio chuckled, "But you know what I think he'd say?"

Sissi shrugged, and her smile faded.

"He'd be telling you that he's happy for you. He'd tell you that Eric's a great guy, and that he's surprised you didn't marry him sooner. He's say that he's happy for you, and that you'll always be his baby girl."

Horatio tilted his head and smiled, waiting for Sissi's to come back.

"Wait here." she told him, going over to the coffee table and retrieving a pen and paper.

In her flowing script, she wrote a letter to her father that told him how much she wished he was here and how much she loved him. Horatio followed her outside, watching from a distance as she walked over to Tim Speedle's gravesite. She pulled her skirt up to her knees, kneeling down and praying. She left the letter against the gravestone, looking back and she returned to Horatio's side with a smile.

"I'm ready." she told him, taking his arm. "Are you?"

Horatio nodded and grinned.

"Let's go, Mrs. Delko."

* * *

The guests had all left, and it was only Eric and Sissi left. He had his arms around his tiny wife's waist, listening to her giggle as they moved to the music and whispered sweet nothings in each others' ears. When the music died down, Eric pulled away and smiled at Sissi. He kissed her and nuzzled her neck. 

"I'll go get the truck." he told her, slipping his hands slowly away from her hips. "Be right back."

Sissi watched him leave with a smile, and stood all alone in the empty ballroom. She glanced around, and heard her heels click on the marble floor as she moved towards the middle of the hall. One last song played, and Sissi recognized it as the opening chords of "Butterfly Kisses". She chuckled, and recalled a faint memory from when she was thirteen. Her father had danced with her to this song, after a hard day at work. She smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek as she remembered him lifting her in the air and kissing her forehead, calling her his baby girl and his angel.

She closed her eyes, and positioned her hands as if she were dancing with someone. Sissi took a deep breath, and moved forwards as the singer's voice came through. She felt someone take her hands, and opened her eyes. The ones staring back at her were identical, his face mirroring her own with only a little bit of a stubble and a haircut added. She smiled.

"Dad." she whispered.

He smiled, putting his hand on her waist and leading her into their dance.

"I couldn't miss my baby girl's wedding." he told her as he led her into a spin.

Sissi was ready cry for happiness, and wanted to hang onto him for as long as she could. This was her father, exactly as she remembered him, dancing with her on her wedding day. He looked particularily handsome in a black suit, a red dress shirt that matched the rose on his lapel. He made no mistake in their dance, patiently waiting when Sissi made one. He would chuckle and his eyes would sparkle amusedly, just like old times.

As the music waned, Sissi hugged him close. Tears ran down her cheek onto his sleeve, and she hung on to him for dear life.

"Daddy, please don't go." she sobbed. "Stay here with me."

Tim buried his face in his daughter's neck, kissing her cheek.

"I'll always be here, babe." he said to her. "You're my baby girl, and never forget that."

He pulled away, running his thumbs under her eyes to wipe away her tears.

"I'm your angel, Isabella." he said, "And I'll always be here with you. I'll be watching you. I'll be there when you and Eric have your kids, when you're telling them about their grandfather."

He smiled at her, then tickled her chin.

"You'll be happy with Eric." he told her. "I know you will."

Sissi smiled and nodded.

"I love you Daddy." she sobbed.

"I love you too, Sissi."

Tim kissed her cheek again, watching his baby girl as he faded into the shadows of the abandoned ballroom. She waved goodbye lightly, smiling as she heard his voice one last time.

"You're Daddy's little girl. Never forget that."


End file.
